The expression "spitting into the wind" probably means little literally to most people nowadays, at least until they attempt to dispose of any excess liquid out an open window of a rapidly moving vehicle--when they are likely to speculate that there must be a better way. Yet the occasion does arise when one has to spit somewhere or to dispose of fluidized or fluidizable grains of sand or tobacco, for example. Then a repository inside a vehicle has even less appeal, if possible, than a barbershop spittoon. Deferring an effective solution to the existing problem not only postpones disposal but may culminate in a less tractable pollution situation.
When dentists render spitting desirable or necessary, as by inserting dental materials--or their hands--into people's mouths, they also conveniently furnish liquid disposal facilities, as in Albigese U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,318. Although long trips by car lack a comparable stimulus, they are also confining, and riders may wish to spit, or to pour out the dregs of a soft drink, or even to rid their shoes of beach sand. Carmakers do not yet take notice of such exigencies, even though it is safe to say that every rider has experienced them.